The Walking Dead : Rules of Survival

I nodded to Shu Guang and gave him a grateful hug, leaning close to his ear and saying from the bottom of my heart, "Thank you."

Then I turned around, climbed onto the windowsill, took a deep breath, and tried to imagine the graceful way Suo Tian had jumped from the hospital's second floor that day.

I leapt forward with all my might...

They say a minute on stage takes ten years of practice — and it's true.

Suo Tian clearly trained for this stuff.

Jumping from the second floor was nothing for him.

But you, Chen Yang, you dumbass...

As I landed in the dirt pile by the roadside, that was exactly what flashed through my mind.

"Are you okay?" Shu Guang's urgent voice came from the second floor.

"I'm fine, I'm fine…" I waved at him while getting up from the dirt, a little embarrassed...

So humiliating...

I looked around carefully to make sure the area was safe, then picked up the medical kit and pulled out the dagger inside.

Only now did I start to feel thankful that I wasn't bitten on my right hand.

"See you tonight," I whispered back to him.

Shu Guang didn't reply—he just nodded and pointed in a direction, signaling that there was a path there.

With a final wave to him, I tightened my grip on the dagger and slipped into the maze of buildings in the urban village.

Since I had rarely been here before, once I ducked into the alleyways, it wasn't long before I got completely disoriented by the endless twists and turns.

By the time I ended up in the same dead-end alley for what felt like the hundredth time, I finally couldn't hold back and cursed, "Damn it!"

I always seem to run into bad luck at the worst possible times.

A lot of people say that's tied to character—if that's really true… then my character score must be in the negatives.

And just as I was thinking that, two walkers emerged from a rundown little shack, blocking my only way back.

I wanted to curse again, but now wasn't the time.

I set the medical kit aside and rolled my sore shoulder a little.

It had been a long time since I'd used a dagger like this—I wasn't exactly confident.

The two walkers were close together.

I gritted my teeth and chose the one that looked a bit weaker—rushed forward and kicked it hard, knocking it to the ground.

I immediately turned around and raised my dagger against the other walker lunging toward me.

Squish.

The dagger plunged straight into its mouth, but as I saw the walker still reaching out to grab me, my heart sank—this wasn't good!

With all my strength, I yanked the dagger out.

By then, the other walker was already getting back on its feet.

I was forced to take two steps back and landed another hard kick into its stomach.

I couldn't afford to mess up again!

Clenching the dagger tight, I stabbed it straight into the head of the walker whose mouth I'd already pierced.

Squish.

A few disgusting drops of brain matter splattered onto my clothes.

But at least it finally stopped moving.

I pulled out the dagger and quickly rushed toward the other walker, who was almost back on its feet.

I kicked it in the chest, then stepped in and drove the blade into its head.

Pulling the dagger out, I let out a deep breath.

The faint stench hanging in the air didn't seem as unbearable as before.

Looking down at the few drops of black brain matter splattered on my thick coat, I felt incredibly thankful I was dressed warmly—if that stuff had accidentally gotten into my wound, getting infected would've been such an unfair way to go.

I turned back to pick up the medical kit, slung it over my shoulder, and walked out of the alley.

This time, I was on high alert—definitely not strutting around as carelessly as before.

Maybe those two walkers had rattled me just enough, because now I wasn't getting lost anymore.

When I finally saw the intersection up ahead, excitement welled up in my chest.

I was finally out!

What a hellhole! Not coming back here even if it kills me!

Maybe my smug expression was too much for the heavens to tolerate, because just as I eagerly ran toward the alley's exit…

A wave of hoarse shrieking nearby brought me to a dead stop.

Judging by the chaotic noise, there had to be at least dozens of walkers on the road.

Given my current state, what would happen if I got spotted by dozens of walkers?

My mind tensed up—I quickly backed away!

Damn it, I had been so focused on finding the way out of here that I completely forgot there might be walkers out on the main road too.

After retreating just a bit, I spotted a courtyard with its door ajar.

I quickly scanned the inside—faint growls echoed from within.

I stepped into the yard and put down the medical kit, planning to take out the walkers inside first and use this place as a temporary hiding spot.

I closed the courtyard door behind me, but didn't slide the bolt—this way, if something unexpected happened, I could still make a quick escape, while also keeping wandering walkers from accidentally stumbling in.

Carefully, I crept toward the interior room.

These old houses were usually interconnected.

When I reached the door, I took a deep breath, lowered my dagger, and slowly pushed it open.

The moment the door cracked open, I quickly stepped back and scanned the room—

Perfect! Just one walker!

I took it down easily.

As I checked the rest of the place, a rush of heroism swelled in my chest.

I couldn't help but praise myself: Chen Yang, even injured you're this badass. Incredible.

Once I confirmed the courtyard was safe, I started thinking about how I could get to the mall and meet up with Shen Feng and the others.

Even though I hadn't seen the main road with my own eyes, just from the sounds alone, it was clear—the situation out there didn't look promising at all.

Since I couldn't take the main road, I had no choice but to go through the side alleys.

I quickly searched my memory for whatever scraps of geography I could recall.

Trying to find a route that seemed even remotely reliable.

After racking my brain for a while—surprisingly, I actually came up with something.

Back when I used to go to work, there were a lot of colleagues who came through this area to get to the school.

One of them, Xu Ruru, lived somewhere around here.

I remembered going to her house once and joking with a friend that if I were ever left alone in this maze, all these alleyways would twist me around until I got completely lost.

I bet the me who said that back then never imagined that day would actually come—where I'd really get thrown into this labyrinth for some ridiculous reason and end up scrambling to find my way out.

With a wry smile, I began carefully retracing the route from memory.

It seemed like we'd taken a small street and wound into an alley, then passed through this same urban village…

After a long bout of recalling and piecing things together, I finally managed to map out a rough route in my head—not that I could tell for sure if it was reliable or not.

It had been way too long, and I definitely couldn't remember all the roads and directions with one hundred percent certainty.

I could only rely on a mix of thinking, speculation, and some guesswork.

But no matter what, it was definitely better than wandering around aimlessly like a headless fly.

I searched the house for a while before finally finding a dilapidated, moldy notebook and a small piece of pencil.

This family must have been illiterate!

After sketching out a rough route on the paper, I looked at the crooked and jumbled shapes and thought about Suo Tian...

When he figured out a route or drew a map, his was always much neater and more detailed than mine.

Before heading out, I wrapped a large amount of bandage around my wound.

The tightness, though uncomfortable, gave me some sense of security.

And no matter what, I had to make sure that this wound never came into contact with the filthy blood of those walkers!

Then, I ran to the kitchen and was delighted to find a kitchen knife.

I tested it in my hand.

It wasn't too heavy, but not too light either.

This family didn't seem very cultured, but their cooking knife was of pretty good quality.

After cleaning the dagger, I put it back in the small first-aid kit.

I took one last glance at the courtyard before opening the door and walking out.

Although the route map I drew didn't look great, its accuracy was still decent, making me only take five wrong turns...

But when I stood on that familiar little street, I couldn't help but give myself a thumbs-up.

The street was small, but there were still quite a few walkers wandering around.

I wasn't sure if it was because the walker herd was nearing, but some of the faster-moving ones had already entered the county.

During the worst times before, this kind of small street had never had this many walkers.

I was hiding behind a pillar, thinking about the situation in front of me.

My gaze swept across, and I suddenly noticed a scooter not far away.

Looking closer, I couldn't contain my excitement!

Great, the keys were still hanging on it.

Instead of walking and risking my way to the mall, it would be much better to ride the electric scooter and boldly make my way through the walkers on the street.

If all went well, I could save a lot of time.

I quickly scanned the surroundings.

If I ran fast enough, I should be able to reach the scooter without having to fight.

Without hesitation, I slung the medical kit over my shoulder, made sure everything was in place, and took a deep breath.

Holding the knife, I quickly ran toward the scooter!

Though there were a lot of walkers, their slow movements made it easy for me to reach the scooter.

By the time I got there, only one walker, who had been nearby, had moved closer to me.

In a good mood and swift in my actions, I struck the walker on the head with the knife.

Watching it fall to the ground, for the first time in my life, I raised my middle finger at someone and, trying to sound cool like the protagonists in movies, I smugly said, "May God save you, ugly freak!"

Not gonna lie, it felt pretty good.

I tossed the knife onto the scooter and twisted the key.

The scooter was still working.

But... it was an electric scooter...

Riding the electric scooter down the road gave me an indescribable sense of exhilaration.

It felt like dodging obstacles in a video game as I swerved around walkers.

But I was still self-aware—after all, it was just an electric scooter.

Besides being a bit faster than the walkers, it didn't have many advantages.

As long as I wasn't blocked by two or three walkers, I should be fine.

But if that happened, I'd be stuck.

So, I did my best to minimize any noise I made, trying to avoid attracting large groups of walkers.

I quickly arrived in front of the mall, and the main door was still shut, just like the last time we passed through.

This meant no one had entered the mall during this time.

I helplessly shook my head and stopped the scooter in front of the mall.

I really didn't know whether this was good news or bad news.

In any case, I still hoped there were a few more people still alive in this world.

No matter whether we would continue this life of hiding or if some people would rise up to save the world, it was always better to be alive.

I suddenly thought about Li Jianguo and Song Meijing...

I tugged at the corner of my mouth.

If there were more people like them... maybe it would be better if they were all dead.

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